[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2924 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2924

 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to eliminate soft 
                 money from Federal election campaigns.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 6, 1993

   Mr. Cox introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to eliminate soft 
                 money from Federal election campaigns.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Special interest money has become largely a source of 
        guaranteed support for political incumbents and is subverting 
        the democratic principles at the heart of the electoral process 
        in the United States.
            (2) In particular, so-called ``soft money'' is making the 
        current system of Federal election campaign contribution limits 
        untenable.
            (3) Soft money enables political parties, labor unions, and 
        other organizations to spend unlimited funds to influence 
        Federal election campaigns and is subject to no public 
        reporting requirements.
            (4) During the 1992 election cycle, labor unions alone 
        poured more than $400,000,000 of soft money into political 
        campaigns.
            (5) The total amount of soft money expended in the 1992 
        election cycle exceeded $750,000,000.
            (6) Banning all soft money contributions will decrease 
        spending on Federal election campaigns and will make individual 
        contributions from small donors the key to a successful Federal 
        election campaign.
            (7) Eliminating soft money contributions will mean that all 
        contributions to Federal election campaigns will be subject to 
        Federal disclosure requirements.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF POLITICAL PARTY SOFT MONEY.

    (a) Contribution Definition Amendment.--Section 301(8)(B) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking out clauses (viii) through (xii); and
            (2) by redesignating clauses (xiii) and (xiv) as clauses 
        (viii) and (ix), respectively.
    (b) Expenditure Definition Amendment.--Section 301(9)(B) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking out clauses (viii) and (ix);
            (2) by inserting ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
        clause (vii); and
            (3) by redesignating clause (x) as clause (viii).

SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF CORPORATE AND LABOR UNION SOFT MONEY.

    Section 316(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
U.S.C. 441b(b)(2)) is amended by striking out ``(A) communications'' 
and all that follows through ``and (C)''.

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